February 9, 2022 - 1:12pm
Gashes along bottom sides.
For a French friend who has had trouble with this for a long time. Can you help me diagnose?
(I said to him It would be helpful to see a couple photos - one from the top, and one showing the crumb).
Underproofed?
Forming too tightly?
Inadequate steaming? - it looks like he's using some sort of pan to me, so not sure. Crust forms early, pan supporting sides, has to go somewhere and along the bottom sides is where it's weakest?
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did the dough consist of?
Not sure of that one, I'll ask. Looks like at least a bit multi-grain to me.
Meanwhile, he shot some more pics. It's not in a DO, it's baked free - which got me, because I thought the sides were sloping fairly sharply.
Undeproofed?
Just saw the top - way too underscored, maybe combined with underproofing?
Did you post any pictures here? I can't see any.
If the problem is bread having cracks on the bottom sides, it might be one or combination of underproofing, using too much heat from the top, and too cold from below (e.g. not a hot stone, or steaming directly below the baking tray, which doesn't let it get hot, etc). I've encountered this problem a little now while waiting for my baking steel to arrive and baking on a tray with a steaming pan below.
Hey Ilya, thanks. I did post them, 3 - let me try another way.
-thanks for the diagnoses. I don't know about the insufficient heat from below - fails to harden the crust up fast enough? Just noticed, interesting (to my untrained eye) how it's gashed along the right side only. What do you think?
(Or, sorry - are you able to see them now?)
Is the water container under the side that hasn't burst? That would make it expand less.
Ah I can see them from my phone. Weird.
Looking at it - is it possible the dough got stuck to the baking surface? Was it placed on a cold surface? Then the oven spring could tear the lifting sides off the bottom...
He said this has been a regular thing now for a long time (new post to a French baking community), so I'd expect it's something in his process, yes? Pre-heated to 250 C on a stone, with a contained of water on the floor (I can't remember exactly now, but I seem to recall something about this very thing and bottom tearing for some reason - a container of water on the bottom?)
Is it baked close to the edge of the stone, where there might be an excess of steam? Then that side could be affected by it.
https://youtu.be/YfhmqvFgSM0 might be relevant
Awesome video, many thanks Ilya. I want to ask - isn't the scoring really shallow?
Or it got sealed up... It looks a bit shallow, but I don't think it would be the main issue. Even with good scoring you can have this problem.
OK, good to know. Thanks on the side thing, that's very interesting. He said he bakes on a "platte," which I interpret as a baking tray of some sort and not a stone, so if so that might very well be the problem - yes? I learned from the vid thanks again.
Maybe! Can't really be sure without details...
Yeah. Thanks for the help. A bit later there but when he replies with more I'll pass it on. Merci encore!
Thanks for the help guys, I think we probably figured it out. He uses a metal tray, with parchment, and doses no steam at load-in - just relies on the pan of water he has in oven during pre-heating and baking. He has an electric oven and I'm also intrigued to know, Ilya, per the video you referred me to, whether the loaf is a bit too close to a top element.
Thanks again, Ilya particularly for the thoughts on the cold surface and the video, as well as the important idea that scoring is not likely the culprit.